About Me
For as long as I have been seriously making music (7 or 8 years), people have been telling me that I need to choose a style. "Be more poppy or more political. Make more electronic music, or rock with a live band. Present yourself as more of a rapper, or as more of a singer/songwriter." I listened for a long time. But I am done with all that. Now, I do me.
But I am a complex guy. My interests include, but are not limited to drinking, smoking, jeopardy, supra, drawing robots, animals, cities, and monsters, fred perry, geopolitics, parliaments, basketball, mexican food, golf, dance-offs, zara, the economist, inventing things, probus, my fathers old clothing, women, and of course, first and foremost, writing, producing and performing music.
Topically, the music I make is a reflection of who I am. I might talk about popping bottles and the ridiculous times which ensue, because that's me. I also might talk about being in love, cuz that's me (not currently, except for my huge crush on Lykke Li ... I loove her). I may write a song about globalization or an imaginary adventure, because I like that kind of stuff too.
My musical influences include, but are not limited to Bob Dylan, Black Thought, Andre 3000, James Brown, Ray Charles, Mos Def, Common, Nina Simone, Sebastien Tellier, Lykke Li, Kanye West, Swiss Beatz, TI, Lil Wayne, Stars/Broken Social Scene, TV on the Radio, The Notorious BIG, Jamie Lidell, Prince, The Beatles, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Peedi Crakk, Simian Mobile Disco, Moulinex, Herve, ATCQ, Toumani Diabate, Jay-Z, Jorge Ben, Miles Davis, Sublime, Leadbelly, Harry Belafonte, Van Morrison, Cam'ron, Aphex Twin, Flying Lotus, Toots and the Maytals, Fake Blood, Captain Beefheart, Lupe Fiasco, Cee-Lo, Regina Spektor, and The Pineapples. I think you can hear that in my music. Sometimes, I'll make a "good" hip hop song a la BK in 1996, cuz that's me. At other times, I'll make an electro track, or a blues song, or a krunkesque anthem. And none of it's a stretch, because that's me.
In an attempt to categorize, I would say I make three kinds of music- Good Hip Hop, Bad Hip Hop and Experimental. You, as a listener, will probably like one of them more than the others. I sometimes produce, I usually rap, I often sing, and I always write. But regardless of what I am making, I try to keep the quality high, the product innovative, and the lyrics, well, the lyrics are ridiculous.
And that's what I am about these days. I am going to make whatever kind of music I want to make (gregorian chant, mongolian folk music, 9 minute didgeridoo solos, whatever) about whatever is on my mind (deforestation in the Central African Republic, girls with tattoos, crab people, etc.). No direction, no intended demographic, no consideration of what is cool or marketable, and yet, no deliberate attempt to be unmarketable. In other terms, I do me.
